Pair push for bus shelters

GIMME SHELTER: Tasman Youth Council members from Gina Udell, left, and Tallis Lentz say it’s time to cover the bus stops at Onekaka and Pohara.

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When Gina Udell used to catch the bus to school from the Pohara Valley in Golden Bay her dad built a bus shelter for her and other students.

Ten years on, the bus does not stop in that spot any more and the shelter has been reclaimed as a shed, but Udell and friend Tallis Lentz are on a mission to protect bus users of Onekaka and Pohara from the elements.

Both are on the Golden Bay branch of the Tasman Youth Council.

They spoke to the Golden Bay Community Board yesterday about their quest to cover the two bus stops. The board and members of the public applauded their efforts and offered their support.

The NZ Transport Agency and the Tasman District Council have already granted permission for the bus stops to be sheltered.

All the girls need is donated material and the skilled labour to build the structures. There is an old seat remaining at Onekaka.

In Pohara, school bus users currently shelter under the eaves at Cafe Plan B.

The duo also hope art students from local high schools will be able to decorate the shelters as part of art assessments.

Lentz lives in Rockville but uses the Onekaka bus stop often for various "youth activities".

"Considering the winds you get around here it would be best to have it done once and have it done right," she said.